Marine outboard motor



March 6, 1 62 R. l. SCHNEYER ETAL 3,023,724

MARINE OUTBOARD MOTOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 23, 1959 v INVENTORS RA YMM/D I. SU/MFY'R y M2040 ZADk/A/S ATTORNQY MARINE OUTBOARD MOTOR v Filed July 25, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4

INVENTORS RAY/410 70 I. SCH/{DER BY Mkow 7'. ADM/Vs Maw ATTORNEY M h 1 R. l. SCHNEYER ETAL 3,023,724

MARINE OUTBOARD MOTOR Filed July 23, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS RAY/1W0 r Scn'A/EYER y M20412 7: ADk/fls I ,QJLQMQNL ATTORNEY March 6, 1962 R. l. SCHNEYER ETAL 3,023,724

MARINE OUTBOARD MOTOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 23, 1959 INVENTORS RAYMOND I SClll/EYS'R BY IMR LD f PK/0S ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,023,724 MARINE OUTBOARD MOTOR Raymond I. Schneyer, Beverly Hills, and Harold T.

Adkins, St. Clair Shores, Mich., assignors to Curtiss- Wright Corporation, Utica, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 23, 1959, Ser. No. 829,077 Claims. (Cl. 115-17) The present invention relates to marine outboard motors and more particularly to a propeller driven outboard motor employing a thrust reaction to rotate the propeller.

The most common marine outboard motors in use today are those employing a reciprocating internal combustion engine as their prime power source. Such engines have many working parts and are therefore relatively expensive. Some efforts have been made in the past to develop reaction type outboard motors employing a jet thrust principle. For the most part, they encountered serious problems with high heats requiring special materials. Fuel consumption is also excessive.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an outboard motor having an extremely simplified construction and employing a reaction principle but requiring exotic materials.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an outboard motor having but a single rotating part which constitutes a combined combustion chamber and marine propeller.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an outboard motor having a propeller and combustion chamber combination with exhaust nozzles in the tips of the propeller blades through which the products of combustion are expelled to rotate the propeller.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a propeller driven outboard motor employing the products of a chemical reaction to directly drive a marine propeller.

These and further objects will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a marine outboard motor employing the present invention,

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the fuel tanks forming a part of the outboard motor of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view disclosing the attachment of the fuel tanks to the frame of the outboard motor with the tanks in a nonoperating position,

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view corresponding to FIGURE 3 with the fuel tanks in an operating position,

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view partly in section of the lower portion of the outboard motor,

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along section lines 6-6 of FIGURE 5, and

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken along section lines 77 of FIGURE 5.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals identify like parts, FIGURE 1 discloses an outboard motor 10 evidencing the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The motor 10 has a frame structure comprised of a pair of vertical members 12 situated on each of its two sides. Attached to the frame 12 are a lower horizontal frame portion 14 and a lowermost support structure 16, which carries the only rotating parts of the motor 10. Secured between the frame pieces 12 and supported on the horizontal piece 14 is a pair of fuel tanks 18 and 20. In the present embodiment of the invention a bipropellant combustion system is used in which one tank contains the fuel, such as kerosene, and the other tank contains the oxidizer, such as a concentrated hydrogen peroxide (90% H 0 For simplicity,

3,023,724 Patented Mar. 6, 1962 ice both tanks 18 and 20 are referred to as fuel tanks although one tank actually contains an oxidizer. Obviously, other bipropellants and monopropellants are comprehended by the scope of the present invention in addition to those just mentioned.

The tanks 18 and 20 are joined by a strap 22 at their mid portion for handling purposes. A detachable clasp 24 connects the tops of the tanks 18 and 20, and a simple handle 26 is provided on one of the tanks for carrying. As seen in FIGURES l, 3, and 4, a cross piece 28 is welded to the two vertical frame structures 12 and has a second cross piece 32 pinned thereto by means of a hinge 30. Carried on piece 32 is a vertical member 34 which is pivotally supported by a pin 36 on piece 32. The lower portion of vertical member 34 has a hook portion 37 which engages the pin 38 carried on a bridge piece 49 that forms a part of the clasp 24. The fuel tanks 18 and 20 slidably engage a structure which is located at the lower portion of the engine 10, as will be later described. By raising and lowering piece 32 the tanks 18 and 26 are raised and lowered to their nonoperating and operating positions respectively. A spring 42 is carried on pin 36 in order to keep hook 37 in constant engagement with pin 38. A spring clasp 44 is welded to the pivoted cross piece 32 and permits the tanks 18 and 20 to be held in an upper position, as in FIGURE 3, or secured in a lower position, as in FIGURE 4.

Referring to FIGURE 5, the bottom portions of the fuel tanks 18 and 20 are each provided with valve mechanisms 46 and 48 which are not unlike the spring type valve found in a bicycle tire. For example, valve mecha nism 46 contains a spring-pressed check valve element 50 which is in a normally closed position.

Complementary to the valve mechanisms 46 and 48 is a pair of valve receiving connectors 52 and 54 which slidably engage valve mechanisms 46 and 48. Connectors 52 and 54 contain sealing means such as O-rings 56 and 58 which are in contact with the outer diameter of the valves 46 and 48. Connectors 52 and 54 are also provided with a vertical rod 60 which is aligned with valve element 50 so that when the fuel tanks are lowered to their operating position, as seen in FIGURE 4, valve element 50 will unseat and will permit the flow of fluid through the valve mechanisms 46 and 48. When the tanks are in their upper position, as seen in FIGURE 3, the valve element 50 is seated (FIGURE 5) and fuel does not flow.

Motor 10 is provided with a rotatably mounted combustion chamber 62 and propeller 64 which form one unit. Carried by support structure 16 is a ball bearing 66 that rotatably supports a cylindrical piece 68. Seals 70 are provided on either side of the bearing 66 to contain a lubricant therein. Cylindrical piece 68 is adapted to receive fuel lines 72 and 74 which run from the valve connectors 52, 54 to the combustion chamber 62. Seals and rotary fittings are provided to receive the fuel lines 72 and 74 within the cylindrical piece 68 and include a tube 76 and seals 78 and 80. Fuel lines 72 and 74 terminate in the combustion chamber 62. When one of the fuel chemicals is an oxidizer such as hydrogen peroxide, the end tip of the fuel line running from it is provided with a screen 82, which in the case of hydrogen peroxide may be made of copper. This screen acts as a catalyst and causes the hydrogen peroxide to decompose as it passs through it. Other known catalytic materials may be used for the screen 82. The line running from the kerosene tank is provided with a separate tip 84 which is positioned to obtain the best possible mixing of the fuel with the oxidizer for the promotion of combustion within the chamber 62. The heat of decomposition of the oxidizer ignites the fuel.

The decomposition of the oxidizer and ignition of the fuel within the chamber 62 creates hot expanding gases which are forced through passages such as 86 formed radially in the blades of the propeller 64 and are expelled tangentially through nozzles 88 located in the tip of the propeller blades. The thrust created by the ex pelling of gases out the nozzles 88 forces the propeller 64 to rotate in a manner not unlike a pinwheel. Rotation of propeller 6,4 is the desired result of the outboard motor 10.

Because the propeller 64 is located below the surface of ,the water, the combustion chamber 62 is completely surrounded by Water, which results in adequate cooling of the motor parts. Thi abundance of cooling permits the construction of a combustion system with noncritical materials. Further cooling is permitted by a passage 90 bored through the wall of cylindrical piece 68.

A skeg 92 is located on the forward part of the lower unit to protect the propeller 68 and fuel lines 72 and 74 from debris which might be encountered in the water during operation of the motor 10. A fairing piece 94 also surrounds a portion of the lower unit for streamlining and protective reasons.

In the foregoing structure it is seen that raising or lowering the cross piece 32 causes the valve mechanisms '46 and 48 to close or open, whichin turn controls the flow of fuel and oxidizer to the combustion chamber 62. In the simplified embodiment of the invention as disclosed in the drawings, only an on-ofi control is permitted, but it should be understood that the present invention also comprehends the inclusion of throttling valves to permit partial load operations if a more deluxe form of the motor is desired. Secured to the vertical frame piece 12 is a steering handle 96 and structure 98 for attaching the motor 10 to a marine vehicle. It is to be noted from the drawings that the attaching structure 98 is pivotally mounted at 100 to permit swinging of the entire motor about a horizontal axis. Steering of the motor 10 is achieved by use of the handle 96 to pivot the motor 10 abouta pin 102 which extends through a plate 104 attached to the vertical frame 12 and pivotally secured to the structure 98. As seen in FIGURE 1, the attachment of plate 104 to the frame 12 is adjustable to raise or lower such as to the line position 104'. This permits the application of the motor to various types of marine vehicles and varying water depths. a

The foregoing description constitutes the preferred embodiment of the present invention. and configurations of this outboard motor will occur to those skilled in the art which'will come within the scope and spirit of the following claims: We claim: r

=1. A portable outboard motor for use in propelling inflatable marine craft and the like, comprising; marine craft engaging means having a marine propeller rotatably journaled for underwater rotation at one end thereof, removable gas propellent tanks mounted'on saidcraft engaging means, a combustion chamber provided within said propeller, propellent flow means connecting said tanks to said combustion chamber, flow control valve means provided between said tanks and said propellent flow means, operative means for depressing said tanks and thereby opening said control valve means, and er;-v

Other modifications haust gas passage means formed through the blades of said propeller and tangentially from the tips thereof for reactionary drive of said propeller.

2. A portable outboard motor for use in propelling inflatable marine craft and the like, comprising; marine craft engaging means having a marine propeller rotat ably journaled for underwater rotation at one end thereof, bipropellent tanks mounted on said craft engaging means, a combustion chamber provided within the rotating hub of said propeller, separate flow passage means connecting said tanks to said combustion chamber, flow control valves provided within the base of each of said tanks, said valves being operable in unison, and exhaust gas passage means formed through the blades of said propeller and tangentially of the tips thereof for the flow of combustion gases and the reactionary drive of said propeller.

3. A lightweight portable outboard motor for propelling inflatable marine craft and the like, and comprising; a vertical stand receptive of a pair of fuel tanks thereon, a pair of: bipropellent fuel tanks removably mounted on said stand, a marine propeller mounted for free rotation at the base of said stand, said propeller including a hub portion having a combustion chamber space provided therein, fuel flow passage means for separately connecting said tanks to said combustion chamber space, check valve means provided within the base of each of said tanks for preventing the inadvertent flow of fuel from said tanks through said fuel fiow passage means, operative means for simultaneously opening said check valves and permitting the flow of fuel from said tanks to said combustion chamber space, chemical reactive fuels in said tanks burning on combination, and exhaust gas' passage means formed through the blades of said propeller and tangentially from the tips thereof for the reactionary drive of said propeller and the propulsion of a craft to which said motor stand is engaged.

4. An outboard motor for marine use, and comprising; a marine propeller mounted for underwater rotation, a combustion chamber formed within the hub of said marine propeller and cooled by the underwater location thereof, exhaust gas passage means formed from said combustion chamber and tangentially through the blades of said marine propeller for reactionary rotation thereof, means of rotational support for said marine propeller axially spaced from said combustion chamber, and open ended fuel conductive means disposed axially. through said means of rotational support and in communication with said combustion chamber.

5. The outboard motor of claim 4 including separate fuel tanks replaceably connected to said marine propeller and having separate means of communication with said fuel conductive means, check valve means provided within said means of communication, operative means for opening and closing said check valve means provided within said fuel tank, and means ofselectively positioning said tanks for the control of said check valve means.

References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Duc June 2, 1914 Hauser Mar. 29, 1955 a... owe-Wm 

